Superhero Buzz: Natalie Portman Talks Her Marvel Future; 'Runaways'

When Thor was released back in 2011, Natalie Portman was arguably the second best-known cast member, after Anthony Hopkins. She was originally signed to play Jane Foster in 2009, but due to delays with the production, she made several other movies in the interim, including Black Swan, which earned her an Academy Award.

That rose her profile considerably and her bright performance as astrophysicist Jane Foster certainly made Thor much more than a movie about a superhero who falls in love with a human. Both Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston broke out big. The sequel, Thor: The Dark World, focused on the relationship between Thor and Loki, leaving Jane to become more of a plot device than a central character in the drama.

Jane’s absence in Avengers: Age of Ultron was explained thusly by Thor: “Yes, I’m not even sure what country Jane’s in. Her work on the Convergence has made her the world’s most foremost astronomer.” Earlier this year, we heard that Jane will not be returning in Thor: Ragnarok and also that Tessa Thompson will be portraying a “kind of superhero” and love interest for Thor.

Where does that leave Jane Foster and, by extension, Natalie Portman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? In a Wall Street Journal conversation (via Collider), she says: “As far as I know, I’m done. I don’t know if, maybe one day, they’ll ask for an Avengers 7 or whatever. I have no idea! But as far as I know I’m done. But it was a great thing to be a part of.”

Portman is not sitting around, pining for a chance to appear in another Marvel movie. She wrote and directed A Tale of Love and Darkness, which opens in theaters tomorrow, August 19, and has a full slate of projects to come after that.

Meanwhile, new Marvel heroes are preparing to emerge on the small screen. Marvel’s comic book series Runaways, created in 2003 by the team of Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, is heading to streaming service Hulu. The series revolves around the adventures of six teenagers who discover that their parents are evil — really, really evil.

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have been named coshowrunners and writers for the new series. As a team, their credits include The O.C. and Gossip Girl, which may give some idea about what to expect from Runaways on Hulu. The first order of business is a pilot episode; after that’s done, we can expect to hear whether the series will be on its way and when.